JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Doctors at UF Health who evaluated a broken, bruised and unresponsive Charles Faggart after he’d arrived from the Duval County jail on April 7 concluded he did not have fentanyl in his system or suffer a seizure, contradicting key details released by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office about the controversial in-custody death, according to a report from The Tributary, a Jacksonville nonprofit newsroom.
RELATED | ‘He was a loving guy’: Family, friends, loved ones gather at private funeral to remember Duval County inmate | ‘Heartbroken, devastated’: Inmate dies following ‘incident’ involving 8 JSO corrections officers, 1 sergeant
Recommended Videos
Doctors also removed a barb from a stun gun in his back – JSO has not previously disclosed that Faggart was stunned – and noted multiple fractures on his face and ribs, bruises throughout his body, and serious damage to his kidneys and liver.
Those descriptions of Faggart’s condition are based on previously unreported medical records obtained by The Tributary. Hundreds of pages of doctors’ notes shed light on a death that has prompted protests and stirred outrage from Faggart’s family but that JSO has merely described as an “incident” in its jail, which for years has proven to be a dangerous place for people taken there.
More than 24 hours after Faggart had arrived at UF Health unresponsive and bloodied, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters called an evening press conference to deliver the news that an unidentified person had been seriously injured in an “incident” at the jail and that he’d suspended nine of his jail staffers, though he did not say why.
But it was clear almost as soon as Faggart arrived at UF Health on April 7 that he was badly, and perhaps fatally, injured. UF Health officials noted that day that Faggart was unresponsive during a neurological test. For reasons the records do not explain, he remained handcuffed on the hospital bed until the next day, April 8. Doctors had to request JSO to reposition the handcuffs because they were creating pressure injuries on the unresponsive Faggart.
On April 8, doctors also began discussing that Faggart was likely brain dead. Waters held the news conference that evening.
Faggart, 31, was arrested April 1 on charges of simple assault and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. The father and food-truck vendor was officially declared dead April 10.
It remains unclear why Faggart left the jail in such a perilous state, and Faggart’s family lawyer, Belkis Plata, has accused the agency of leaving his loved ones in the dark.
“They have learned everything they know alongside the rest of the community – and that is simply unacceptable,” she said
The medical records indicate that JSO approved Faggart’s father visiting his unresponsive son almost exactly 24 hours after he’d arrived at the hospital.
A heavily redacted police report – written by one of the officers Waters suspended and released by the agency amid criticism of the its lack of transparency about Faggart’s death – said that six days into his misdemeanor jail stay, Faggart, handcuffed for unexplained reasons, began “displaying aggressive, erratic and disruptive behavior by thrashing his body, clenching his fist and pushing & pulling actions while attempting to escort into the dorm.”
A sergeant deemed Faggart a “threat to himself and others” and ordered that he be placed in a restraint safety chair. The report alleges that Faggart continued to struggle with officers, though what the officers did to Faggart is redacted.
The mental health director was called about 20 minutes after Faggart was restrained and she approved him to be placed in “self-harm housing.” Officers also placed an anti-spit mask on his face, according to the report.
At one point, the police report said Faggart “verbalized” that he “did fentanyl,” but there is no further mention of that in the unredacted portions of the report. The UF records said doctors saw no indication of fentanyl in his system based on the results of a urine test.
The police report notes that a nurse flushed Faggart’s eyes with saline solution at 7:28 a.m., which suggests Faggart was pepper-sprayed while in the restraint chair. The medical records also indicate that doctors found lung damage.
Faggart was removed from the chair more than an hour later, at 8:50 a.m. He was placed back into the chair a few minutes later, though the reason why is redacted. The rest of the report is also redacted. The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department arrived at the jail two hours later, at 9:05 a.m. and they started chest compressions 5 minutes later. UF doctors believe the chest compressions may have cracked one of Faggart’s ribs.
The police report noted that at some point Faggart had a seizure, which an officer witnessed.
UF Health records said Faggart showed no signs of having suffered a seizure.
Nichole Manna is The Tributary’s senior investigative reporter. You can reach her at nichole.manna@jaxtrib.org .